


More Than I Could Ever Imagine

by sakuyababie



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Other, THIS IS NOT SHIPPING I REPEAT NOT SHIPPING, also mentions of izumi!!, characters may be ooc sorry, just wholesome sakyo dad moments, mentions of family problems if that may be triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24086341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuyababie/pseuds/sakuyababie
Summary: Just a bunch of short soft dad moments between a3 boys and Sakyo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	More Than I Could Ever Imagine

Sakyo had been sitting in the living room on the couch, one leg lying comfortably atop the other as he held a book open between his index finger and pinky, his usual serious look present as he studied over the contents of the book, humming to himself every now and again as the words would process in his brain, when a shadow had suddenly loomed over him, casting down on top of the pages, and earning him a small sigh. He glanced over his shoulder to see who it was that had interrupted his reading, surprised to see a rather nervous looking redhead staring down at him from behind the couch.

“Um, Sakyo? I don’t mean to bother you, but, well, I kinda need somebody to drive me to this important interview, so I was wondering if...you don’t mind…” Tenma progressively shrunk down the longer he spoke, averting his eyes and scratching at the nape of his neck. He didn’t actually ask Sakyo directly if he could drive him, but Sakyo knew that that was what he was implying, so he simply closed the book and adjusted his glasses, standing up to his feet and turning to face the young boy, who tensed as Sakyo’s shadow was the one to loom over him now.

“Do you have something nice to wear?” Sakyo asked, which ultimately threw the younger off guard. He stood there, blinking like an idiot for a good 30 seconds before he finally processed the question.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I got a suit already, so…” Tenma replied quickly, finally bringing his arm down comfortably to his side. “Er- is...that a yes on driving me to the interview, or-“

“What time do you have to be there?” Sakyo turned his back on him, setting his book down on the coffee table as the younger cringed slightly at the fact that his question had been dodged for a second time.

“The interview starts at 2:30. Usually I get dropped off at least an hour in advance for preparation…” Tenma replied, bringing his hands up to rest on the top of the couch, squeezing the cushions slightly as he looked hopefully at Sakyo.

“Well then, you’d better start getting ready. I’ll be waiting at the door at 1 o’clock, if you’re not there by then—“

“YES! Thanks, Sakyo!! I’ll start getting ready right now! I promise I won’t keep you waiting!” Tenma assured, already bounding down the hallway out of the living room and making a sharp turn toward his dorm.

“Don’t run down the halls!” Sakyo’s voice boomed after him, to which the younger verbally obeyed before slamming his door shut. Sakyo huffed, turning back to the book he had placed down earlier, before bringing up his watch to check the current time. After doing the calculations in his head, he grabbed his book once more and plopped down onto the couch, returning to his old position as he opened the book back up to the spot where he had last left off.

-

“Sakyo, Sakyo!!” Tenma’s voice could be heard growing closer and closer from the hallway as the man in question stood beside the front door, waiting, as he had promised. Sakyo’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m right here, Tenma.” Sakyo spoke flatly as the younger could finally be seen entering the living room, his head darting in the direction of the familiar voice. When he met Sakyo’s gaze, he hurriedly approached him, bringing something into Sakyo’s hands as he did so.

“Sakyo, can you help me put on my tie? I-it's not like I don’t know how, I just really suck at it, y’know?” Sakyo looked down at the light blue tie that now lay stretched out across his palms before he looked back at Tenma, who appeared a little embarrassed to have put him of all people in this situation. Sakyo really had no problem doing it, as he had plenty of years of experience perfecting the skill, so he allowed the tie to completely slip into one of his hands as he used his free one to gesture for Tenma to come closer.

“C’mere. Hurry. We don’t have much time.” Tenma nodded quickly, doing as he was told, watching as Sakyo brought the tie around his collar and began working it skillfully into the perfect tie, the completely natural muscle memory leaving Tenma quite impressed, wondering if he could ever reach that level of skill one day, despite it being something so simple. Tenma firmly adjusted his collar over the tie, making sure everything fit together accordingly and looked as perfect as it could be, before the two had looked up, meeting each other's gaze at the same time. Tenma’s eyes had such a youthful and innocent sparkle to them, despite the sharp tongue he carried with him always and was not afraid to unleash upon whoever he saw fit. He hadn’t even noticed before how much Tenma has started to grow into his features since the first time he had laid eyes on him here at Mankai. All the baby fat in his cheeks were really starting to subside, becoming strikingly sharp and manly looking instead. He wasn’t sure how he should feel about that. It wasn’t like Tenma looked bad having lost those features, no, far from that, but, there was a bit of hurt that lingered within himself that he just couldn’t explain. It wasn’t until Tenma had snapped him out of his thoughts by pointing out the time that Sakyo had shook his head and let go of his collar.

“Right. Let's get going.” Sakyo turned to face the door, opening it and allowing Tenma to step outside first before he followed close behind, closing and locking the door after them. The two made their way toward Sakyo’s car, Tenma waiting patiently in front of the door of the passenger’s side as Sakyo unlocked it and got in. When Tenma had followed and gotten himself situated, buckling his seatbelt, he took note of how neat and clean everything was and how it still had that new car smell, as well as a lingering scent of Sakyo’s usual cologne, and maybe a hint of coffee. Sakyo made sure to shoot Izumi a text of where they were headed before he started up the car and pulled out onto the street, leaving Mankai behind to head in the destination of the interview, which Tenma had let him know the address of as Sakyo was composing his message to Izumi. As they had started their journey, there was a long awkward silence between the two, as Tenma stared out the window and Sakyo was fixated on the road and vehicles ahead. Sakyo took a quick glance down at his radio, sparking an idea.

“Would you like to play any music?” Sakyo offered, the teen perking up slightly at the question.

“Really? It’s okay?” Tenma sat himself up straight rather than leaning up against the car door like he was before.

“Sure. I wouldn’t have asked if I thought it wasn’t.” Sakyo turned his head back as he spoke to change lanes. Tenma smiled a bit to himself as he brought his hand up to the unfamiliar radio system, clicking the button that would turn it on and flipping through the various stations until he heard a song that he was satisfied with.

“Oh yeah. I love this song.” Tenma began to nod his head to the beat, leaning back into his chair a lot more comfortably than before. Sakyo’s small smile had gone unnoticed by the teen, much to Sakyo’s relief. He didn’t know what was really worth smiling over, and he wasn’t going to overthink it, either. He just needed to focus on getting to their destination for now...while also stealing glances at Tenma making some absurd dance moves every now and again, trying his best not to crack a smile over it every time.

They had arrived at the building soon enough, and Tenma almost didn’t notice until Sakyo had turned the volume down a tad and pointed out where they were. Sakyo watched calmly as Tenma scrambled to grab some of his essential belongings, before clicking off his seatbelt and throwing it over his shoulder.

“Thanks for driving me here, da—“ That last word had caused them both to freeze up upon hearing it, even though it hadn’t been finished, they both were very well aware of what the word was meant to be. Sakyo tightened his grip on the steering wheel while Tenma tried to laugh it off.

“SAKYO! I meant Sakyo, of course! Not...whatever that was. Thanks! Again!” Tenma practically flung himself out of the car out of sheer embarrassment, not wanting to see Sakyo’s reaction over that stupid mistake. He was about to take off toward the building when he had remembered to ask Sakyo something, so he quickly turned on his heel and ran back up to the window, ducking his head underneath so that they could both see each other properly.

“Sakyo, will you be picking me up too? I should be finished by 4.” Sakyo directed his attention back to Tenma as he turned off the radio.

“I will be here at 4, then. And no later.” He replied simply, earning a bright smile from the teen.

“Thanks, Sakyo.” He took his hands off of the car door and started off toward the building, Sakyo watching him go the entire way, making sure he made it inside safely, before he shifted the car into drive and pulled away. He decided to stop by some places close to the building Tenma was at, to make things a little easier on him, not having to drive a long distance to pick him up again. He was lucky there were some pleasant stores and cafés to pass time at in the area.

-

Sakyo had been parked near the building, periodically checking his wrist watch until it had reached 4, and nearly perfectly on the dot, the doors swung open, and the familiar bright orange head of hair could be seen among a small group of people exiting the building. Tenma was bowing respectfully and waving goodbye to what Sakyo could only assume were staff and managers, and that put a small, heartfelt smile on the older’s face, until the boy had met his gaze in the distance and waved toward his car. Sakyo unlocked the door as Tenma came jogging over, swinging the door open and plopping down in the passenger’s seat, heaving out a deep sigh as he brought his hand up to loosen his tie.

“Man, that felt like AGES!” Tenma complained as Sakyo started up his car, mindful of turning on the air conditioning to something comfortable for Tenma after the interview.

“How did it go?” Sakyo asked as he checked his mirrors and windows, waiting for a chance to pull out.

“It was the usual, really. Some good questions, but mostly stupid, unimportant ones.” Tenma answered, leaning forward to turn the air conditioning toward himself, sighing contently at the breeze when it struck his skin. Sakyo nodded his head understandingly before the two fell into that same silence as before. Sakyo drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel in thought, wondering if he should bring up the topic that had been plaguing his mind the entire time he spent alone while Tenma was doing his interview. He knew things were at risk of getting awkward, that was inevitable, but he just wanted to make things transparent between them, so Sakyo cleared his throat a bit and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, preparing to choose his words carefully.

“You know...what you said before you left...or, rather, what you were about to say…” Sakyo started, the teen slowly coming to understand what Sakyo was referring to and blushing a bit at the reminder. “I just wanted to say that it’s alright. It didn’t bother me at all. And, if you were to say it again, it wouldn’t bother me then either. I understand, though, if it really was a mistake. I just wanted to let you know that. I understand that it must take a toll on you, not being around your parents at such a young age.”

Sakyo didn’t notice the tears pricking the corners of Tenma’s eyes and the way his lip began to quiver as he continued to speak.

“It must be really hard for all of you. I know plenty of you boys don’t have the best family situations and it's really a shame. I also know that I act like...well, if I’m being honest, a prick sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize your struggles. I guess what I’m trying to get at is…” Sakyo had pulled over to the side of the road, as he felt a little inappropriate being distracted by driving during such a deep discussion. He quickly set the car to park and began to turn to face Tenma, when he was suddenly engulfed by the younger, who had flung himself across the divider between them, his seatbelt already discarded at his side. Sakyo’s eyes widened slightly, his arms moved away just in time as to not be crushed amidst the embrace, though he ended up looking just as awkward as he would have been if they were. Tenma had been crying hysterically into Sakyo’s chest, emitting sounds that he had never heard from him before for as long as he had known him in Mankai, and he wondered to himself if he had worded anything poorly amidst that explanation. He slowly brought his arms closer to Tenma, unsure of where he should take things from here. In all his years of living, this kind of situation was completely new to him, and he had no clue how to go about it. He couldn’t help but think to himself that Izumi would definitely know how to deal with a circumstance like this. No, no, this is not the time to be thinking about Izumi.

Sakyo let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding and allowed his hands to gently touch the center of his trembling back, careful not to make the touch too uncomfortable, allowing plenty of space between them for him to pull away easily if he so desired. Sakyo slowly opened his mouth, preparing to give him an apology, just in case it was needed, but Tenma had beaten him to it.

“I love you.” Tenma’s voice wavered as he spoke, followed by a few choked up sobs and sniffles. “I love you...more than my dad.”

Sakyo couldn’t hardly believe what he was hearing. He wasn’t the emotional type, that was for sure, but those words had somehow managed to form a lump in his throat and caused his heart to feel like it was being weighed down by a ton of bricks.

I love you...I love you?? More than his own father?? He really said that??? The words seemed hazy in his brain, fading in and out of his understanding, but it was all he could think about, completely stunned by it.

Even though he couldn’t bring himself to truly understand, however, he wasn’t against being that role for Tenma in the slightest. In fact, he was rather pleased. More than pleased, if he were to be completely truthful. He hoped that Tenma couldn’t hear how hard his heart was beating right now, but, being as how the younger was still sobbing quite loudly, he figured it probably wasn’t something to worry about. Sakyo took this chance to fully embrace Tenma, to let him know that it was completely okay for him to think that, and that he fully reciprocated those feelings.

I love you, huh? Sheesh...

These kids meant a lot more to him than he ever could have imagined...


End file.
